Monday, April 30, 2012

Honey Ginger Chicken

It is such a beautiful day I wanted to sit outside and read enjoy the fresh air and watch the Hummingbirds go from one feeder to the other. To be honest I also had some housework to do but that just isn't very exciting.

I had a craving for Chinese food and looked to see what was in the fridge and pantry since I didn't want to drive to town to go to the market or get take out.

In our little town we don't have a lot of options for Asian food. We do have a Thai restaurant that is very good, a Sushi restaurant that is okay, Panda Express and a nasty Chinese Buffet. That's it!

I know this is not a traditional Asian dish but I did my best coming up with the recipe and it is very tasty and easy to pull together and most of the items you might already have on hand.

Honey Ginger Chicken

4 large bonless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

1/3 cup honey

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon shallots, finely minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to your taste)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons ginger, grated

3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided

salt and pepper

Cut chicken into bite size pieces approximately one inch, salt and pepper, set aside.

In a bowl or 8oz mason jar add honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, shallots, red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger. Mix together well. It is best to let the sauce sit for at least one hour so flavors can marry.

Heat half the oil in a skillet on a medium high heat cooking chicken in small batches for about 5 to 8 minutes remove from heat repeat until all of the chicken has been cooked.

Add the remaining oil and heat on high. Add chicken back into skillet and pour sauce over chicken and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve over rice. Note: Sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions can be sauteed and added to this dish along with any other veggies you have on hand.

Onion and Garlic Steamed Rice

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup rice, rinsed and drained

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

Saute' butter and onion in saucepan for 5 minutes. Add rice and garlic stir for 3 minutes add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 11 minutes. Remove from heat uncover place a clean dish towel over saucepan and replace lid. Let sit for 8 minutes, fluff rice with fork. Place towel and lid back on saucepan for another 8 minutes.